Teach Me How To Breathe
by f-romanoff-13
Summary: High School is full of challenges, it's no different for the students of Stan Lee Memorial High. In their four years there a group of friends face break ups, fall outs, abuse, drug addictions, bullies, car accidents, adoption, poverty and an unplanned pregnancy. However they make friends, fall in love and eventually make it out the other end alive. (Several TW)
1. Chapter 1

**_As always, I have no beta so I apologise for any mistakes_**  
**_Characters belong to Marvel, I own nothing :(_**

**_I always said I would never write an Avengers High School AU, but here I am, and I hope you enjoy it!_**

**_Again, I am British, so am completely unfamiliar with US schooling system etc, so if there are any major mistake please please tell me and I will try my best to correct it!_**

**_Very much a work in progress! Trigger warnings to be added as needed._**

**_*This author is now back at uni, all uncompleted stories are still in progress and i will still be working on them, however it may be a while between updates, sorry!*_**

**_Special thanks to hoplessromantic1599 for you help with the American Schooling system! I hope I got it right_**

* * *

The first day back after Christmas vacation was always the worst for Clint.  
He was a freshman at Stan Lee Memorial High School and had only just really started to make friends. He'd always been a bit of an outsider; living in a children's home would do that to you, but he'd been stuck with Steve and Bruce in most of his classes, and they were both outsiders too; so it was only natural they'd form some sort of friendship eventually.

They mostly hung out in the library after school. Bruce didn't like taking friends back to his because of his dad; all he said was that he had a temper, and Steve was ashamed of his small modest home compared with most of the students who went to SLM High; he was poor, he and his Mom struggled to scrape together enough money for food even though Steve was the only 14 year old Clint knew who had a job. Clint, who lived in a home, wasn't allowed friends round, and he really wouldn't want to subject them to having to cope with the others kids who lived there. So the library it was.

The reason Clint hated the first day back so much was because everyone was so excited, talking about the holidays they went on, or the new phones they'd got; showing off and bragging about how great their vacation was, while Clint was lucky if he even got a new coat for Christmas; and when he did it was normally second hand and far too big.

So it was the first day back following Christmas, and Clint had already missed the school bus. It was Grant's fault; the kid had been messing with his things all Winter and it had taken Clint 20 minutes to find his left shoe, never mind his school books which were scattered over ever room of the large house which was currently the home of 18 children waiting to be fostered or adopted. Grant was supposed to be adopted soon; the perks of being a cute eight year old with dimples. Clint had no hope of ever being adopted and had accepted it long ago; Barney had told him as much two years ago when he'd run away, he'd tried to get Clint to go with him, but he'd been naive and scared and decided to stay, hoping Barney too would see sense and stay with his younger brother, but no, he'd ran away and probably joined up with another circus just as bad as the last.

He arrived in the office outside the principal's office; one of the requirements of arriving late was having to sign in and explain why, and there he saw Jessica Drew. She was a bit strange; she liked to talk and was over friendly, but she was nice to everyone and always made an effort to smile, which he guessed was why Principal Fury had chosen her to show the new kid around

There was a small girl, with wild red hair sat in the corner of the office, waiting. She was swinging her legs impatiently and purposely avoiding eye contact with everyone

"Hey Clint!" Jessica greeted him with a warm smile as he entered the office, Clint honestly wondered how anyone could be so genuinely pleased to see people all the time

"Oh hi Jessica, how you doing?"

"I'm good thanks, you?"

"Yeah, same old" Clint replied, appreciating the fact she had refrained from asking him about his Christmas break  
"You know who that is?" he asked quietly, nodding to the red head in the corner who was still staring at the floor

"Oh she's new; she's from Russia or somewhere like that... Natasha something"

"You showing her around?"

"Yeah, I always get to show around the new recruits" she joked, winking at him. Referring to when Clint joined them in the seventh grade at Marvel Middle School and she had been assigned as his 'school buddy'

He smiled, and left her to it when Principal Fury called her and Natasha into his office to officially introduce them to one another. Clint signed in with the old lady who worked in the office; Clint swore he'd never once seen her smile, not ever.

Since he'd already missed most of first period geography he went over to the library before going to second period biology, where he took his usual seat behind Bruce and Steve.

The morning passed slowly, Clint tried his best to ignore everything his teachers had to say and soon enough it was lunch time.  
The snow was still falling, so they decided not to venture outside, but met up with Darcy Lewis and Jane Foster in the cafeteria instead. Clint was quiet and didn't join in the conversations much, just listening to Jane and Bruce talk science and watching as Steve remained oblivious to the fact Darcy was madly in love with him; it would be almost funny if it weren't for the fact she'd been watching him with her large puppy dog eyes for at least the past two years.

He noticed Natasha sat alone in the very back corner, her knees pulled up under her chin as she rested her feet on the edge of her chair. She didn't seem to actually have any lunch and instead spent the entire hour reading an old battered book. Clint wondered where Jessica was but remembered she was probably at gymnastics practice. He felt bad for her, sat all alone and would have gone over to see if she wanted to join him and the others, but something about her made him nervous and he still hadn't managed to work up the nerve by the time the bell went.

Next it was math; Clint's least favourite subject with his most hated teacher; Mr. Sitwell. This was the first class of the day he had with Natasha; she took the only spare seat available, which just so happened to be next to him, and kept silent the whole way through. He glanced over at her a few times, but she kept her long hair like a curtain between them, obscuring her face and he didn't know why; but he still just couldn't speak to her. He did catch a glance at her work though, and she'd finished the math problems they'd been asked to do and moved onto the next chapter of the book. She must be really clever because Clint had barely finished the second problem by the end of class.

At the end of the school day Clint left his art class to go meet Bruce and Steve in the library, and once again; Natasha was there.

The three of them sat chatting about various TV shows they'd been watching recently, the teachers they didn't like and the new Assistant Principal Miss Johnson.

"Clint... Hey Clint... **Barton?"**

Clint looked up to see both Steve and Bruce looking at him

"Hummm?"

"You know you've been staring at her all day" Bruce informed him

"I have not" he answered defensively

"Yeah, you have actually. Why don't you just go say hi?"

"I- I can't just- Can I?"

"Sure you can, just introduce yourself"

"But, she's from Russia, what if she doesn't speak English?"

"She's been shown around by Drew all day, and gotten by in all her classes; I'm sure she can speak some English Clint"

"Right, yeah... Okay"

...

"Go on then" Bruce prompted after several minutes

"I am, I'm-"

But it was too late; Natasha was gathering her stuff to leave after her phone started to ring

Clint looked back to his friends who ushered him forward encouragingly

"Go after her" Steve advised, laughing slightly at the red tint that Clint's cheeks had taken on

He practically ran down the hallway in the direction she'd headed; it had taken him all day to work up the courage to even say hi to her, he couldn't let her leave without introducing himself, he wasn't sure he'd ever have the guts to do it if he missed his chance now

He rounded the corner and ran right into her, she dropped her books and her notes fluttered everywhere

"I am _so_ sorry!" Clint gushed, bending down instantly to help her gather her belongings

He looked up at her to see her red rimmed eyes; she'd been crying

"Are you- are you okay?" he stuttered, suddenly feeling fiercely protective over her. He felt stupid and pushed the feeling back down, there was no reason at all for him to feel that way; he didn't even know her.

She nodded quickly, her red curls falling from behind her shoulder as she picked up her folder. "Thanks" she uttered as Clint handed her the final book, and it was the first time Clint had heard her speak; he found himself captivated by her voice

"I erm, I just wanted to say hi. And Clint. That's me, my name I mean, my name is Clint Barton"

"Hi Clint Barton" she smiled as he blushed more "I'm Natasha Romanoff"

Clint grinned in response, and was about to say something else when he was interrupted

"**Natalia!**" came an angry voice from behind them, and Natasha winced

"I gotta go" she said hurriedly, running off before Clint could even say goodbye.

He watched as she climbed into a large car which sped off instantly, looking down he noticed that she'd dropped and left behind her phone. At least he had another reason to talk to her tomorrow now. And they had double math, so he'd definitely have a chance.


	2. Chapter 2

Clint found himself actually looking forward to math class for the first time ever, and the next day Clint arrived at school early (also for the first time ever) hoping to get a chance to talk to Natasha before Mr Sitwell started the class, but she was late. She uttered a rushed apology as she entered the classroom half an hour late and took her seat, Sitwell glared, but he was supposed to be lenient seeing as it was her first week and she was still likely to get lost.

Clint tried to catch her eye throughout the double lesson but she kept her eyes firmly on her work, allowing her hair to fall forward again and hide her face, after class had finished she disappeared before Clint even managed to get a word in.

He didn't see her in the cafeteria at lunch or in the library after school. He saw her in French a few days later working with Carol Danvers, but he never got the chance to give her back her phone.

"Do you still have that poor girl's phone?" Bruce asked, sitting down next to him with his lunch. It had reached Friday and he'd had Natasha's phone for five days now, it was going to get to be awkward when he finally did give it back now

"Who's phone?" Pepper asked, sitting opposite Bruce with Tony trailing behind. Everyone thought they were an odd couple; Pepper was the quiet, shy girl who used to have braces and a lisp but had turned out way prettier than anyone had ever expected, while Tony was an eccentric rich kid with a butler and occasionally a body guard. Everyone knew of Tony, but no one really knew him other than the small group of friends he actually spoke with, and somehow; that included Clint

"The new girl's, Clint's got a crush on her" Darcy told the whole table, causing Clint to blush

"Come on Darcy, don't tease him. One day you'll fancy someone too" Steve informed her, causing her to blush (which wasn't easy to do). Everyone at the table suppressed a groan; they all knew how much Darcy fancied Steve,, it was common knowledge to everyone but him

"Just go give it her back" Jane said, squeezing in between Steve and Bruce

"It's not that simple" Clint informed them, still looking round the cafeteria for Natasha

"Let me see it?" Tony asked, holding out a hand for the phone. Clint handed it over without really thinking

"Why?" he asked as a second thought, taring his eyes away from the door to see if Natasha made an entrance to look at the billionaire sat opposite

"I just want to have a look through it"

Clint's face fell as Tony started scrolling through her messages

"She only has like, one contact in here... And all the messages are in Russian" Tony informed the others disappointedly as Clint snatched the phone back

Clint spent the entire weekend (when he wasn't chasing Grant out of his room) thinking up excuses as to why he'd had her phone for so long without returning it; each as pathetic and unbelievable as the last. So after speaking with Pepper, he decided to tell the truth and give it back to her last period on Monday

But she was absent on Monday, and again on Tuesday. When it reached Wednesday and he still hadn't seen her he decided to ask Jessica if she knew where she was

"You got me" she shrugged as she searched through the books in her locker "I haven't seen her since last week, sorry Clint"

"Maybe she went back to Russia?" Bruce offered at lunch when she hadn't shown up for first period on Thursday

"Or maybe she's avoiding you" Darcy joked, but seeing the hurt expression on his face she quickly swung her arm over his shoulder and whispered "but that'd make her a fool"

By Friday, Clint had given up hope of seeing her again, but then in second period chemistry class; Natasha reappeared

"Hi Natasha"

"Oh hi Clint" she said distractedly

"So, I found this and I think it's yours" he said, handing over her phone and taking the empty seat beside her. He usually sat with Bruce in chemistry, mainly so he could get help with his work, but he sat with Natasha and Miss Bishop didn't seem to mind when she walked in

"Thanks" she said, quickly taking it back and shoving the phone in her pocket without even really looking at it

They spent the whole lesson in silence as Natasha hid behind her hair once again

"So what are you doing for lunch?" he asked as the bell rang, trying to keep her engaged in conversation so she couldn't disappear again quite so quickly as she normally did

She shrugged, gathering up stuff and quickly headed to the door

"Because you can come sit with me- us, with us if you want to?" he asked, following quickly

"Maybe" she said, turning down a hallway so rapidly it took Clint by surprise

"Because I noticed that you-"

"Clint, what do you want?" she asked, stopping and turning abruptly. Clint walked right into her again and found himself blushing. She seemed on edge and nervous and he felt guilty for putting her in that position

"I just wanted- I wondered if you- I just thought you could use a friend" he settled on, and was relieved when a small smile tugged at her lips

"You?" she asked, sounding somewhat surprised, and he nodded

"And me?" she still looked confused

He nodded again, and wasn't sure whether he should be offended

"But, you don't even know me"

"I'd like to"

"Why?"

The question threw him somewhat, it wasn't the response he'd been expecting; he was fully prepared for an outright rejection, but not this. It hurt him somewhat that she was deadly serious i wondering why anyone would want to get to know her

"I erm, I just thought, well; everyone needs a friend. So I thought that maybe, if you want to, that I could be yours?"

"Okay then" she answered, sounding still somewhat confused and turned to continue on her way to class

"Okay then to lunch? Or to being my friend?"

"Both" she shouted back to him, already halfway down the hall

Clint smiled, and ran to catch up; falling easily into step beside her as they headed over to history

He managed to convince Jane to swap seats with him in so he could sit with Natasha again in class, and he was somewhat relieved when she pulled her hair back and turned to face him

"So, where've you been?" Clint asked as Mr Jackson began his lesson

"I- I was ill" she stuttered

"But you're better now?" he asked, concerned

She nodded and quickly changed the subject. During that lesson he learnt that Natasha grew up in Stalingrad with her parents before they died in a fire when she was four, she was taken to an orphanage in Moscow before being placed in foster care with a lovely family when she was seven, just as they were about to finalize her adoption; her uncle showed up, adopted her himself and dragged her to America. She didn't talk fondly of her uncle, and Clint avoided prying. He told her about his childhood, which wasn't pleasant, so he left out the gruesome details; his parents died when he was six and he and his brother were placed in a foster home in Iowa; Barney didn't like it and ran away, dragging Clint with him and the two boys ended up travelling with a circus for several years. But money got tight, the circus went their spate ways and the authorities caught up with Clint and Barney again, placing them in a children's home. Barney had once again fled, but Clint had stayed behind and here he was...

At lunch everyone introduced themselves and asked Natasha question after question, desperate to get to know the newcomer, and the girl who'd caught Clint's eye.  
Clint could tell she was uncomfortable and tried to intervene, but everyone was (surprising) well behaved, and Natasha seemed to get on well with everyone, especially Pepper

They didn't have any classes in common that afternoon, and Clint wasn't sure he wanted to go all weekend without seeing her again;

"Me, Bruce and Steve are going to the library after school, and I think Jane is going to come too, if you want to join us?" he asked as they all cleared away their lunch things, though it hadn't passed his attention that Natasha once again hadn't actually eaten anything

"I can't" she answered, sounding almost regretful

"Oh, okay. Well, I'll see you Monday"

"Yeah, maybe" she answered before leaving with Pepper and Jane for their Spanish class

He wondered what she'd meant by 'maybe', but he didn't have much time to contemplate it when Tony dragged him off to geography

He met up with the guys after sixth period had finished, and wasn't surprised to see Darcy had tagged along too. Her and Jane were close, and any excuse Darcy had to spend some time with Steve was okay by her

"So you finally gave her her phone back?" Steve asked, when the conversation turned to Natasha, which Clint knew it undoubtedly would

"Yeah"

"Which crappy excuse did you go with?" Bruce asked

"None, I told her the truth" Clint smiled at the impressed looks the two girls shot him

"I like her" Darcy declared suddenly "I think she's cute. I approve"

"Thanks" Clint said, though he wasn't sure it was the sort of comment to say thanks to

Jane nodded in agreement; "She's really clever, she'd going to help me improve my grade in Spanish"

"Aren't you already getting straight As?"

"Yeah, but I can get an A+ with Natasha's help" Jane replied, causing Darcy to roll her eyes and shake her head

Clint rode his bike home after several hours in the library with his friends, and found himself looking forward to school again on Monday; he actually had friends, he was doing okay in most of his classes, and now there was Natasha...


	3. Chapter 3

Over the next few weeks Clint's friendship with Natasha grew and grew. They learnt little things about each other like their middle names, favourite foods and birthdays. They learnt to read each other's moods and facial expressions, and Clint began to feel like he'd never known anyone quite as well as he knew Natasha, not even his own brother.

Clint started splitting his lunch with her when he realised she never brought any, and she started helping him with her homework.

Natasha also became close with Clint's other friends; Darcy was fascinated by her, Jane was thrilled to have someone to help her improve her one less than perfect grade, and her and Pepper got on brilliantly. She got on well with the guys too, and managed to hold her own against Tony's sarcastic wit. Soon, it was as if she'd always been there, a part of their group; they jelled better as a group now Natasha was a part of it, and Clint finally felt like he had friends; real friends, and not just ones of convenience.

Jessica had begged her over and over to join the gymnastics team, and after seeing her in class Clint wasn't surprised; she was by far the most skilled gymnast in the school; even if she did try and avoid bringing attention to herself. But she was adamant she couldn't make the rehearsals and meets, and Jessica finally gave up. Despite that the two became good friends and in Natasha's spare time she helped Jessica improve her routines.

"Hey Romanoff!"

"Oh hi Darcy" Natasha replied, walking slowly towards the school entrance through the rain. Everyone else was rushing, but Natasha walked slowly and seemed oddly happy to be out in the rain. Darcy pulled her jacket over her head to walk with her friend despite the fact it was well known that Darcy Lewis hated the rain

"You know, you'll probably catch a cold"

Natasha shrugged; she liked the rain and was in no rush to get to history class; they were learning about Russia today and she wasn't looking forward to it

"How's Steve?" Natasha asked, watching Darcy for the telltale flush of her cheeks and smiling when she saw it

"How's Clint?" Darcy quickly countered

"He's fine, we're just friends" she answered a little too quickly

"So are me and Steve"

Natasha knew better than to press her on the topic, so changed the subject

"You have a good weekend?"

"No, Jane and I went shopping"

"What's wrong with that? Don't girls like shopping?"

Darcy laughed; "You talk like you're not one! And Jane's version shopping is more like standing in a book store for three hours, and when I finally managed to drag her to the food court she spent the whole time staring at that new foreign exchange student; Thor or whatever"

"Your school is being overtaken by foreigners" Natasha joked and Darcy laughed. They'd finally reached the entrance as the bell went; they would both be late now, but neither of them cared all that much; they made plans to meet at lunch before heading their separate ways.

The next week Natasha was absent again and her constant bouts of illness were beginning to bother Clint, but right now he had a maths exam and his plan to copy Natasha's answers hadn't quite worked out...

"Mr Barton?" Mr Sitwell called after him at the end of class

He sighed, he hadn't done his homework, again (Natasha was supposed to help him) and he was fairly certain Sitwell would have noticed he'd answered a grand total of 2 questions out of 20 on the exam when he collected in the papers

"Yes sir?"

"Principal Fury wants to see you"

"Now?"

"Yes" his voice had an air of 'duh' to it, and Clint had to suppress the urge to roll his eyes (a trait he'd picked up from spending too much time with Natasha)  
If it had been any other teacher, he'd have asked why the principal was calling him to his office in the middle of his school day, but seeing as it was Sitwell, he didn't bother.

He entered the office leading through to Fury's and the old woman at the desk glared before ushering him straight though

"Barton" principal Fury greeted, standing and indicating a chair opposite his desk

"What's this about? You know I'm missing a really thrilling geography lesson right now" Clint deadpanned, Fury didn't smile but glared at him with his one good eye before taking his own seat and flicking through some paperwork

"The people at the children's home wanted me to have a word with you"

Clint's face fell; they had really strict rules and Clint had seen more than a few kids get kicked out for breaking them. Those kids ended up at rougher, stricter homes in the city centre, most of them ran away and ended up living on the streets; but Shield's Home for Children was one of the nicer homes, and there were a lot of kids who would love to live there. Clint was fairly certain he hadn't broken any of the rules... He didn't want to transfer homes, mostly because that would also mean a transfer of school

"W-why?"

"There's someone who's interested in fostering you"

Clint was suddenly very confused; no one had ever seemed remotely interested in fostering a teenager when the place was full of younger, cuter, less damaged kids

"Right?"

"He wants to come here to meet you, after school one day; wants you to bring a friend so you have some support. On Friday you and one friend are excused from sixth period to come here and meet the guy, see what you think. He already has 2 foster kids, so if you like him you can go meet them aswell"

Clint was still a bit confused, but Friday sixth period was French and they had a test. Missing that would be worth almost anything

"So who do you want to take, Rogers, or Banner?"

"Can't I bring Natasha?"

"Romanoff?" Fury raised his eyebrows at him

"Yeah"

"If she actually turns up on Friday she can go with you. And when you see her tell her I have my eye on her; kid ditches more than Stark!"

"I don't think she 'ditches' sir, she's-"

"Doesn't matter, dismissed Barton. Get back to class"

Clint grabbed his back from under his chair and went to leave. As he reached the door he turned back to Fury and asked;

"Sir, what's his name? The guy who's interested in fostering me?"

Fury flipped through the paperwork again, looking for the answer; "Coulson. Phil Coulson"


	4. Chapter 4

_This story has been much more popular than I expected, so I thank you all for your support! :)_

* * *

Natasha was back in school by Wednesday, and by Thursday sixth period Clint still hadn't asked her about coming to meet Phil Coulson with him on Friday. He knew it was because he was worried Phil wouldn't actually turn up, that it was all a mistake and he'd got the wrong kid; he had abandonment issues and he knew it. But he promised himself he'd ask her before they left school, he'd have to, or he wouldn't really have a chance...

She'd given Clint her mobile number but told him never to text her unless she text him first; she was nervous enough about letting him have her number and had refrained from saving his number in her phone, choosing to memorise it instead. Clint suspected this had something to do with her uncle, and that's what the others had guessed when she'd given them the same ground rules to them before giving them her phone number as well.

The bell rang signalling the end of the school day and Natasha, as always, quickly packed away her belongings

"Hey Tasha" Clint called, rushing to keep up with her

She turned and smiled at him, once again causing him to walk right into her

"I need to ask you a favour"

"Shoot?" she said with a grin, and for a moment Clint was so lost in it that he forgot what he wanted to ask

"Tomorrow during sixth period , I erm, I'm supposed to go to Fury's office to meet someone. Will you come with me?"

"Meet who?" she asked, a look of concern quickly overtaking her features

"A erm, a guy who might be interested in fostering me"

"Oh Clint that's great!" she smiled, shocking him by wrapping her arms round his neck and hugging him tightly. Clint returned the hug and realised that this was actually something Natasha could probably relate to; she'd lived in an orphanage for years in Moscow

"**Natalia!**"

Natasha turned so abruptly that she dropped her bag and all her books once again. She scrambled to pick up her things quickly and Clint caught his first glimpse of Natasha's Uncle Ivan; he was tall and large, covered in tattoos and had a nasty scar down the left side of his face. He looked, quite frankly, terrifying.

"I'll be there, I promise" she whispered before running off across the car park and climbing into the back of her uncle's car

**XxX**

It was Grant's last night at Shield's Children Home and they had a bit of a party for him, including a very delicious cake (which was a rarity in itself).  
There were also two new kids joining them, so it was like a joint welcome party for them as well. One was a little six year old girl with long dark hair who refused to tell anyone her last name; her name was Skye and Clint thought she was weird. The other was the youngest kid Clint had known to come to Shield; she was four and her name was Anya Corazon; she had long blonde/brown hair and was pretty adorably, watching the other kids with quiet curiosity

She had the room next to Clint's and late at night he could hear her muttering to herself.

**XxX**

Friday morning soon came and Clint got up early to say goodbye to Grant; as much as he hated to admit it, he'd kind of miss the kid

He hadn't told anyone other than Natasha about the meeting that afternoon; he was still convinced that even if this 'Coulson' did turn up, he wouldn't want him; he'd probably change his mind and end up adopting someone like Skye or Anya instead

So when Natasha didn't turn up to first period history Clint began to panic

She had promised, and she'd never used that word before. Deep down Clint held out hope that she'd still turn up.

After third period he approached Carol Danvers to ask if Natasha had been present in German; which she hadn't, so at lunch Clint considered asking Steve to come with him instead, but changed his mind; if Natasha couldn't be there he'd rather go alone.

He was quiet during lunch, too nervous to really eat much

"Hey Clint, where's Red?" Tony asked taking his usual seat

Clint shrugged

"Is she okay? She's been absent a lot" Jane added

"I think so, I haven't heard from her today" Clint answered, wanting lunch to end so he could get maths over with

**XxX**

When Sitwell handed him his test back with a lousy 5% mark and a large red 'F' scrawled across it Clint wasn't surprised.

"I see Miss Romanoff is absent yet again, please give this to her"

He handed over her test she'd had to take to yesterday at lunch to make up for missing it on Monday, and there was an impressive '100%' written at the top along with the comment 'Nice job Romanoff, somehow'

Clint rolled his eyes, only Sitwell could find a problem with an A* student

"Clint, you heading over to French?" Bruce asked after Sitwell had dismissed the class

"Erm, no actually; I'm not"

"You're not ditching too are you?"

"Bruce I-"

"Not it's okay. I'll see you Monday right?"

"Monday" Clint confirmed as Bruce followed the rest of the class out

**XxX**

Slowly, Clint started towards Fury's office and was surprised when he heard a familiar voice shouting his name

He turned to see Natasha's red hair as she dodged through the crowds of students to catch up with him

"Tasha?"

"Hey" she smiled at him

"Where have you been?"

"I- I couldn't- I'm here now" she told him, the smile disappearing from her face

Clint felt guilty for wiping the smile off her face so he wrapped his arms around her and whispered "Thank you Nat" into her ear. He could smell the apple of her conditioner and the sweet smell of her perfume and he realised how much he needed her here with him for this

As he backed away he noticed the smile had returned to her face; "I promised, and I never break a promise"

Clint took her hand; "Come on" he smiled, and together the two of them made their way to Fury's office

**XxX**

Clint walked straight past the old lady at her desk, earning himself a glare; and knocked on Fury's door. After a moment or so the door swung open revealing Principal Fury looking down at the two of them; "Ah Miss Romanoff, so you did make it"

Natasha glanced at Clint, who squeezed her hand reassuringly and she remembered that she was supposed to be there to support him, not the other way around

Fury stepped aside to let the two of them into his office. There was a guy sat there in a suit, smiling at the two of them

"Barton, this is Phil Coulson. Phil, this is Clint and his friend Natalia"

"Natasha"

"Right, Natasha"

Fury excused himself and left the three of them alone

Conversation was slow and awkward, so Clint got right to the point

"No offence Mr Coulson"

"Phil"

"Mr Coulson, but why me? Why are you so eager to foster a teenage boy when the homes full of younger kids?"

"I believe in second chances Clint, and I think it's about time someone gave you one"


	5. Chapter 5

The two of them left Fury's office and mutually agreed it wasn't worth heading over to French for the last 40 minutes, so they wondered round the field out back instead; enjoying a rare day of sunshine

"So, you wanna go get some pizza or something?" Clint asked, breaking the silence. He wasn't sure how they meeting had gone, Phil had seemed nice enough but Clint couldn't read him. Still, he was pretty sure he'd blown his chances

"I can't, I should get home" she replied quietly

"Natasha, where were you today?" he asked suddenly, his friends questions from lunch ringing in his ear

"Clint-"

"And earlier this week? And two weeks ago? And the week before that?"

"Clint, don't. Please?"

He knew he was pushing his luck, but he felt a sudden need to know

"Fury told me to warn you about your attendance, and Sitwell has noticed it too. You need to be more careful Nat"

Her eyes were down and she didn't respond, and Clint felt awful

"I'm just worried Nat, I just want you to know that I'm here, for you if you need me"

She nodded slightly, "I better go. Bye Clint" she told him before turning to walk back across the field; and Clint knew he'd definitely blown it this time.

**XxX**

He headed home feeling like a failure, he'd upset his best friend and was sure he'd messed up his one chance at getting out of this dump

"Barton?" Miss Brand called as he finally made it back to Shield. He groaned, but followed her to her office. Abigail Brand was the in charge of the children's home and last time he was called into her office it was to assign him to look after the new kid (it was two years ago and that child was Grant Ward, now he had been adopted he figured he'd get another assignment)

"I just got off the phone with Phil Coulson" she said sternly and Clint's stomach dropped; he'd known he wouldn't want him

"I want to know what you thought of him?" she asked

"He was- he was okay"

"Just okay?"

"He seemed nice"

"He wants to foster you Clint" she said with a smile, and Clint could have sworn it was the first time he'd ever seen her look happy

"Really?"

She nodded; "As long as you don't mind the fact he has two younger foster kids too"

Clint shook his head, he'd put up with almost anything if it meant getting out of here

"At the moment he lives out of state, but he plans on moving soon so you can stay at SLM High"

"Okay" Clint said, still reeling from the news but failing to stop the smile spreading over his face

Clint ran up to his room following his meeting with Brand, wanting nothing more than to share the news with Natasha. But then he remembered that A – she was probably pissed at him and B – he wasn't allowed to text her unless she messaged him first. So instead he text Steve and Bruce, and then his excitement got the better of him and he forwarded the message to Jane, Darcy, Tony and Pepper as well. He stayed up late, texting his friends until he eventually fell asleep with his phone clutched in his hand

So at 2am when it started ringing, it made him jump. He was even more shocked to see who was ringing him;

"Tasha?" he asked, sleep still clouding his mind

"Did I wake you?" she whispered

"No, no I was awake"

He heard he laugh quietly; she knew he was lying

"Nat are you alright?"

"Yeah, yeah I'm fine. I just wanted to tell you that I'm sorry, about today"

"At 2am?"

"I thought you said you were awake?" she mocked, and Clint couldn't help but smile

"I'm sorry Nat, I shouldn't have pushed"

"Thank you Clint, it's just weird; I've never had somebody who cared"

Clint felt his heart wrench in his chest; "I care. Natasha, it's important that you know that"

"I know Clint, I care too"

Clint smiled, and he felt on top of the world

"Guess what?" he asked her, lying back down

"Go on?" she prompted, just like Clint knew she would; she hated guessing, because she hated being wrong

"Coulson is going to foster me"

He heard the smile on her face in her voice; "Oh Clint that's great news! I'm so pleased for you"

"He lives in New Mexico, but he's moving to New York so I don't have to move schools"

"When do you move in?"

"As soon as he moves; should be in the next few weeks. Tony wants to have a party to celebrate"

"Tony would" she deadpanned

"Do you reckon you could come?"

"I can try" she offered but she didn't sound hopeful

"Natasha?"

"What is it Clint?"

"I need to ask you, just once; and I won't ask you again, okay?"

She sounded apprehensive but she agreed

"Is there something going on? Something you need to talk about?"

There was nothing but silence at the end of the phone, and for a moment Clint thought she'd hung up on him until he heard her sigh

"Okay, you don't have to answer. But if you ever need to talk, or need help, then I need you to tell me okay?"

"Okay Clint"

"Promise?"

"I promise"

And that was good enough for him...


	6. Chapter 6

Monday morning came round all too fast for Clint's liking and he soon realised he'd neglected all his homework once again.

He ran into Jessica by the entrance as he hurried into the school; "Hi Clint" she smiled warmly, which he returned  
"Could you do me a favour and tell Natasha I need to speak to her if she's in today?"

"Sure" he agreed, slightly suspicious but continued to make his way to the cafeteria to meet the others. One of the perks of arriving early was time to meet with his friends before class.

Tony was there with Pepper when he arrived, and Jane, Darcy and Steve arrived shortly after

"Barton, I was thinking..."

"That never ends well" Pepper interrupted her boyfriend

He ignored her and continued;  
"We should have a party"

"I know, you said the other day"

"I know I did, we really should have a party though. My parents are away this weekend; even Jarvis is going with them. So party?"

"I don't think it's such a good idea Tony" Pepper warned, never one to break a rule

"It'll just be a small thing; a little gathering of friends if you prefer?"

Pepper rolled her eyes as Bruce arrived and sat beside her

"What's this?" he asked

"Saturday, I'm having people over to celebrate Clint getting out of that hellhole"

"Who's going?" Clint questioned

"Well; me and you, Pepper, Steve, Bruce, Jane, Darcy, and Little Red if she can make it?"

"What about Thor?" Darcy asked, elbowing Jane who turned a deep beetroot red

"Who's Thor?" Tony asked Jane who was too flustered to answer

"He's the exchange student from Sweden that Jane's been seeing"

"He can come if he wants" Tony shrugged; "You can invite Jess and Carol too, but that's enough people"

Natasha walked in and smiled at Clint, just as everyone got up to leave and head to class

"Hey Red" Tony greeted, as he and Pepper walked past hand in hand

"See you in physics Romanoff!" Darcy shouted before running off to catch up with Steve

Soon it was just the two of them and Clint couldn't help but smile. The bell sounded as he made his way over to the doorway where she was waiting for him;

"We're going to be late" he informed her

"Clint, can we just, go somewhere? Somewhere to just talk?"

He nodded, and followed her round the back of the art block where they sat in the grass beneath a willow tree

"So what's up?" he prompted when she remained silent and started making a daisy chain

"Nothing, what's up with you?"

"Tasha, I though you wanted to talk?"

"I do, I just- I don't know..." she sighed

"We shouldn't be missing class" Clint said sadly when he realised Natasha had backed out of whatever she was going to say. He'd hope she had finally grown to trust him enough to tell him what was going on, but he wasn't going to pressure her. Not again.

The two got up and made their way to history class, but were unfortunately found sneaking through the grounds by Miss Johnson

"You two. My office. Now!" she ordered, causing the two off them to jump

Natasha whispered her apology to Clint as she followed him into the small room which had recently become the Deputy Principles office

"Miss Romanoff, why am I not surprised?"

"I'm sorry Miss Johnson"

"Mister Barton, I'm a little surprised to see you here"

"This was all my fault" Natasha blurted, her Russian accent showing through slightly

Clint looked to Natasha as Miss Johnson sighed

"Mark this as your final warning Natasha; you need to prove you deserve your space at this school. You can meet me back here after sixth period for detention" she informed Natasha who nodded in agreement  
"The two of you wait here while I go and inform your uncle of the detention tonight"

Natasha's head fell into her hands as she apologised to Clint once again

"It's alright Tasha" he soothed, using the nickname she only ever let him use. "You can tell them it's my fault, you don't have to take the blame"

"No, it was my fault and I'm sorry. Ivan is gonna be pissed though"

Clint didn't know what to say to that one, so he remained silent and they waited for Johnson to return

"Barton, you're dismissed. You can head back to class now" she informed him a few minutes later. He glanced to Natasha as he gathered up his stuff but she kept her gaze firmly glued to the floor.

Clint didn't see her again until lunch when she walked in with Carol and took a seat next to Jane

"Tony, what the hell are you drinking?" Pepper asked, pulling a face

"Just coffee" he answered quickly, clutching his starbucks cup close to him and quickly changing the topic;

"So Red, you up for our little get together this weekend? My house, Saturday"

"Your parents are away?" she asked

"They're always away" Bruce informed her

"Yeah well, whatever, this time Jarvis is going too. So what do you say, you want to come round?" Tony said

She looked up as Clint passed her half his sandwich and smiled "I'll ask" she promised, noticing the hopefully look in her best friends eye

"We could get some pizzas and stuff, maybe watch a movie" Steve asked, and the whole table was soon talking about the weekend

"How'd it go with Johnson?" Clint whispered when it seemed everyone else was caught up in their own conversations

"Oh it was a blast" she answered sarcastically

"What happened?"

"Ivan has to come in and speak with Fury on Friday"

"That's not good"

"It'll be fine, he won't come anyway"

She continued picking at the food Clint passed her, and joined in discussions with their other friends as Clint spoke with Bruce about what he missed in history class that morning

The bell sounded and the kids scattered. Darcy walked with Natasha as they made their way to gym class

"Hey Nat"

"Hey Darce"

"Do you like Clint?"

Natasha raised an eyebrow at her friend

"I mean, like_ like_ him?" Darcy asked

"He's my best friend" Natasha answered, walking on quickly

"That's not what I asked"

"Why are you asking Darcy?"

"Because, me and you are the only single girls in our group now, and Steve is never going to notice me, and I know Clint likes you..."

"How do you know?" Natasha asked, her interest suddenly piqued

"He's different around you. He was always quiet, but it's not the same. When you're in the room everything he does is focused on you, it's like he gravitates toward you even when he doesn't realise it"

Natasha blushed and found herself smiling. She'd never allowed herself to consider the feelings she had towards Clint because she honestly didn't intend on making friends at school. She'd suffered too much heartbreak when she'd been taken away from her life in Moscow when Ivan showed up and brought her here.

Darcy noticed the pink tint and slight smile on her friends face and found her question answered.


	7. Chapter 7

_Sorry about the delay in updating! I've been working on a few of my other fics (feel free to check them out if you haven't already ;) it'd be much appreciated!)_  
_And also reviews are lovely, please be generous ~F_

* * *

The following day they had double gym class, where they were to do archery for the full three hours. No one was much looking forward to it, but on the plus side it was the only class they all had together.

Clint secretly enjoyed archery, and was actually surprisingly good; beating everyone (including the teacher)  
Natasha didn't have the patience for archery, not caring much for the bow. However she adapted the technique and almost rivalled Clint for acuracy if she threw the arrows rather than shot them.  
The teasing soon started when Thor helped Jane take her shots; she blushed furiously as Thor placed his hands over hers, standing closely behind her he corrected her stance and smiled as they let go of the arrow together

"You need any help Pepper?" Tony asked, leaning in to kiss her cheek. She ignored him, and sighed, loosing her arrow and almost getting it in the bullseye, far closer than Tony had ever come to hitting it.

"Do _you_ need any help Tony?" she asked, smiling at the shocked expression on her face

"Why does no one want to help me?" Darcy moaned under her breath, she'd fumbled with the bow and thrown it on the floor at least three times by now and hadn't even shot a single arrow

"What are you doing?" Steve asked, coming over to her

She blushed furiously and tried really hard to avoid eye contact with Natasha who was stood behind Steve smirking

The smirk was fast wiped off her face though as Clint insisted throwing arrows didn't count and she needed to learn to use the bow

All attention was drawn from the targets however when Clark, one of the other kids in their class, started pushing Bruce;

"Look guys, it's little baby Brucie!" he chanted as his friends followed him to where Bruce stood, Steve quickly gave up helping Darcy in favour of running over to help Bruce

"He is one of your friends?" Thor questioned Jane when he noticed her attention had wandered; she was watching the events unfold. She nodded, and Thor strolled calmly over; he was easily a foot taller than the group of boys who'd been picking on Bruce since Middle School.

Positioning himself carefully between Bruce and the bullies, Thor asked them politely to leave. The five boys looked to each other confused, before laughing and shoving Thor, he shoved back and was stronger than he thought when the boy stumbled over. Clark got up again quickly, and angrily charged at Thor, not paying any attention to the fact Natasha had strolled over, and subtly stuck her foot out; he tripped, and fell face first into the mud.

"You stupid bitch!" he yelled, getting back to his feet but even his friends were laughing at him now. Natasha crossed her arms and glared as Clint appeared by her side; he was the only one not to have abandoned the bows when they'd walked away from their targets

"Anyone else?" Thor questioned looking to the other four who all shook their heads. "I suggest you leave" he informed them quickly while Clint gave Natasha a high five

"Thanks" Bruce said gratefully to the others, as Tony, Jane, Pepper and Darcy joined them. Thor smiled and took Jane's hand in his before heading back to the other side of the field where they'd been practicing. Jane didn't move and instead tugged Thor back, earning herself a confused glance from him;

"Thor, these are my best friends; Tony, Pepper, Darcy, Clint, Natasha, Bruce and Steve" she said, indicating the respective person as she said their name. They all smiled and greeted him as he beamed back at them.

"It is an honor to meet those Jane calls her friends" he told them

Clint didn't miss the shock on Natasha's face at being referred to by Jane as her 'best friend', the expression was soon replaced with a soft smile

"You ask your boyfriend about Friday yet?" Tony asked Jane, who once again blushed

Thor looked to her, asking her "Friday?" but it didn't pass anyone's attention that neither questioned, nor denied the use of the word 'boyfriend'

"Erm, Friday is, there's a party for Clint, at Tony's house, if you wanted to come? ... With me?"

"I would love to accompany you there" he told Jane gladly, before turning to face Clint; "It is your birthday?"

"No" Clint answered, leaving Thor looking confused once again

"Clint is getting adopted" Darcy told him, "And it's about time too!"

Clint rolled his eyes at Darcy; he'd known her the longest out of his friends, ever since he was sat next to her in math class on his first day of Marvel Middle School.

Thor's face darkened slightly at that, and for the briefest of moments he looked sad before smiling once again

Tony was really beginning to look forward to having his friends round, he hadn't had any friends round to his house since his third birthday; "Great, so me and Pep, Clint and Red, Jane and Thor, Bruce and Jess and Darcy and Steve..?" the not to hidden meaning of his comment was lost on Steve

"You're going with Jess?" Steve questioned Bruce, but Darcy was preoccupied with another but of that statement; "Clint and Nat?!"

"We're not going _together_ we're just friends!" Clint rushed to explain and Darcy rolled her eyes

"I could ask Carol..." Steve thought out loud "Do you think Carol would go with me?"

"Or you and Darcy could go together?" Natasha hinted, less subtly than Tony had; ignoring Darcy when she elbowed her in the side

"Okay, Darcy do you want to go with me?" Steve asked cheerily, not noticing the red taking over her cheeks

"Sure" she stuttered, as Natasha whispered "You're welcome" in her ear

Shortly after they were all heading over to their next classes; when Natasha, Pepper and Bruce went to Geography, Darcy pulled Clint aside;

"You know Nat wants you to ask her to Tony's party"

"W-what? No she doesn't"

"Yes she does! So why don't you just ask her you big moron!" Darcy said, hitting him round the head

"But, she doesn't even know if Ivan will let her go"

"That's not the point Clint, she wants to go, and she wants to go with you. Ask her, even if she can't go the fact that you asked her will be what matters"

And with that Darcy turned and strolled off to her English class, leaving Clint stood blushing and confused in the middle of the corridor


	8. Chapter 8

Fridays party was getting closer and closer, and Clint still hadn't worked up the nerve to ask Natasha. He couldn't imagine she'd ever want to go with him... Not like _that _  
Tony and Pepper were dating, and now so were Thor and Jane. Bruce had always liked Jess, and Jess had always liked Bruce so Clint was fairly certain they'd be going as a couple, while Steve and Darcy... Actually he had no idea about Steve and Darcy; Steve was so blind to her feelings, and Darcy was so madly in love with him that it could go either way. But him and Natasha... He liked her, that was for sure. He realised he'd liked her from the first moment he'd seen her sat in the principal's office on her first day, but she wouldn't like him... Would she?

Every time he saw Darcy she'd raise her eyebrows in a silent question and roll her eyes in a huff when he shook his head to tell her he hadn't asked her yet

"If you don't ask her soon it'll be too late, I heard Steve's cousin is in town this weekend and Steve's trying to get her to agree to go with him" Darcy whispered Thursday at lunch

"What?!" Clint asked, outraged. It appears Steve was oblivious to everyone's feeling

Clint's outburst had caused a few others to glance his way, including Natasha who had been deep in conversation with Pepper. She looked at him questioningly before turning back to Pepper and ignoring the wink Tony shot her. Clint kicked him harshly under the table and he quickly turned back to planning his latest science experiment with Bruce. So far this year the two boys had caused three explosions and five fires, even shutting the school down for a day for 'safety concerns'.

Well that was it, he'd have to ask her soon or she'd end up going to the part with Steve's cousin with the weird name who was a junior at a school in Canada.

So when the bell rang and the group quickly dispersed to head to various locations for class, Clint grabbed Natasha's wrist and dragged her into an empty classroom

"What is it Clint, we have a math test remember?"

"I know I know, we'll go in a minute"

"Okay" ... "Clint?" ... "I can't afford to get into anymore trouble, and you really can't fail another math test"

"Tasha"

"Clint?"

"willyougototonyspartywithme?" he muttered in a rush

Natasha looked at him, but she looked confused; "pardon?" she asked. She was begging to get concerned; he was acting strangely and had been for a few days now, she was beginning to worry she'd done something to upset him

"If you want, I mean, I'd like it if you and I, if we could, erm, I know it's not much notice, but if you can make it, that is if you're allowed to..." he took a deep breath, "Natasha, would you like to go to Tony's party with me?"

Natasha didn't say anything for a minute, her brain taking a moment to catch up with what Clint had just said. But she could tell he was starting to panic so she stuttered a rushed "yes", answering with a smile that spoke louder than words

Clint breathed in a sigh of relief before returning the smile.

He took her hand in his; "Come on, let's get to class before Sitwell gives us detention"

The two of them ran up to the third floor classroom, never breaking hands until they reached the door, but peering into the classroom Clint could see the test was already in progress; "damn"

"Mr Barton, Miss Romanoff, what a surprise" Sitwell drawled sarcastically as the two of them entered the classroom

"Sorry we're late Mr Sitwell, I wasn't feeling well" Clint stuttered, knowing it was better for him to get into trouble than Natasha

"Take your seats, I expect nothing less than one hundred percent on this exam if you think you have time to spare" he told them, passing their exam papers out as they passed.

To Clint's horror he'd been given a different paper than Natasha so his plan of copying hadn't quite worked out; Natasha had been given an advanced paper that she finished quickly before subtly helping Clint with his.

"How'd you get so good at math?" Clint asked after the lesson had ended

"Math is the same in every language" she answered quickly before heading off for her Spanish lesson while Clint went over to Geography "See you tomorrow!" she shouted happily as she walked to meet Jane

"So you finally asked her" Tony commented as the two strolled over to the Geography block

"What, how did you-"

"You look happier, she looks happier, there's just a boat load of happy and you two are in it"

"What?"

"Look, I'm just saying you two are cute together, and it's about time. Now we've just got to get Steve to notice Darcy, the poor girl. It's starting to get a little pathetic"

"You're weird, has anyone ever told you that?" Clint said, bumping his shoulder against Tony's as they walked

"All the time, so anyway; what'd you say to Red?"

"I just asked her to go to your party with me"

"That's it? Come on Barton!"

"I'm sorry to disappoint Tony"

"So you guys coming straight to mine from school tomorrow?"

"I don't know, I'd have to speak to Tasha... Her uncle is a bit funny about things like that"

"Yeah I had noticed, what's his deal?"

"I have no idea..."


	9. Chapter 9

Word soon got around about Tony's _'small' _get together, and keeping it at just the eleven of them (well, twelve if you included Steve's cousin) was proving difficult. Tony had always been popular, a side effect of being rich, but his friends weren't so used to the attention they were receiving; their classmates all desperate to get an invite to check out the Stark mansion.

Friday sixth period thankfully ended, and the group of friends all headed to Tony's (other than Natasha who had to go home first, and Steve who went home to meet his cousin before heading to the billionaire's home)

Clint was nervous, Darcy even more so. She hadn't had the courage to actually broach with Steve the topic of exactly what capacity they'd be going to this party as? Friends? Was it a date? Just two single people thrown together as a result of belonging to a group full of couples? Jane had tried to drop some hints to Steve on her behalf, but he was just as oblivious as ever...

Tony had gone all out; he'd got more pizzas than they could ever eat, candy, chocolate, chips; you name it, he had it.

"Tony is that beer?" Bruce asked, noticing the table full of bottles as Jess added the cupcakes she'd baked for Clint to the table of food (which could easily feed them all for the better half of a week)

"Yeah, I just took a few bottles out of my dad's store room, he'll never notice. I've got some gin, scotch and vodka too... Hey Clint, Tasha's Russian right? They like vodka don't they..?"

"I don't think it's such a good idea Tony..." Pepper began, but he shooed off her concerns and went to greet Jane and Thor who'd just arrived. She shared an uneasy look with Bruce before Jessica dragged him off. Pepper moved a few of the bottles into one of the cupboards, hoping no one would notice them there and Tony would forget about them...

Steve arrived shortly after Thor and Jane, his older cousin Bucky in tow. He quickly introduced him to Carol Danvers, the only one at the party without a date; not that she minded, she'd just broken up with Matt Murdoch, but Bucky was nice and had a friendly smile; it'd be nice to talk to someone different for a few hours.

Steve walked up and tapped Darcy on the shoulder, she was pretending she hadn't notice him arrive and was talking with Jess and Jane. She turned, trying to act nonchalant; which lasted all of about five seconds before she spilt her drink all over him. Jess and Jane couldn't bear to watch anymore, and headed back over to where Bucky and Thor were quickly making their way through one of the pizzas having recently been introduced, and informed they both played for their respective schools football team, Bruce and Carol stood with them and greeted Jessica and Jane when they joined them.

"I am _so_ sorry" Darcyblushed

"No, no, it's okay. I shouldn't have startled you" he told her, wiping down his wet shirt

She blushed even more now, not having the guts to admit to him that actually, she knew he was there

He smiled at her awkwardly as the red flush to her cheeks increased.

There was a loud clatter as Thor broke a glass;

"Sorry friend Stark" he said quickly, rushing to pick up the shards littering the floor

"Don't worry Point Break, I've got a million more where those came from!" he winked, erasing the uneasy look on Jane's face; she still felt Thor wasn't quite part of their friendship group, not like Pepper and Natasha who's slipped right in, it had been harder with Thor, but he was making progress and Tony's use of some stupid nickname cemented it in her mind.

There was music on in the background and lights on in the large expansive garden; it was (for once) a nice evening, and most of their time was spent outside; chatting and joking in groups or pairs. But as the night grew on, there was an absence that didn't go unnoticed;

"Hey Barton, your girlfriend going to show up at some point?"

"She's not my girlfriend Tony" Clint sighed, looking out over the fields Tony called his backyard

"Say what you want about you and Red, we all know how you feel about her"

Clint didn't deny it, he'd allowed himself to look forward to this, for the first time in a long time he was actually happy and excited about something, but she hadn't turned up

Pepper joined the two of them, stood by the edge of Tony's pool;

"Hey Clint, is Tasha coming?"

Clint did nothing but groan in response, causing Pepper to apologise

"It's not your fault Pepper, I just... I really like her, and I thought she liked me too... I really thought she'd show" he said sadly, before Tony awkwardly cleared his throat to get his attention. Clint turned to see Natasha stood there, listening curiously to everything he'd just said...


	10. Chapter 10

Clint blushed furiously as he cursed himself under his breath; that was not something he'd wanted her to hear. Tony smiled at him before dragging Pepper off to refill his drink

"I'm sorry I'm late" Natasha said awkwardly

"Thanks for coming" he said, turning back to look out over the fields

Natasha strolled forward to stand next to him, feeling the eyes of their friends burning into her back as they all watched, pretending not to

"Hey Clint, do you want to take a walk?" she asked, glaring back at the others

"Sure" he said, sensing why Natasha wanted to and turned to glare at his friends as well.

**XxX**

Darcy and Steve were the only ones still inside the house, mainly because it was a bit chilly for Steve in his wet Tshirt.

"I'm sorry about your shirt" Darcy said, apologising for what had to be the twentieth time

"It's okay Darcy" he said smiling. He was beginning to wonder why Darcy had stayed in here with him when all her friends were outside, when he looked down at his phone he had a text off Bucky;

_'Kiss her already'_

Steve blushed and looked around for his cousin. He spotted him outside talking with Jane and Thor

Bucky caught his eye and winked at him, causing Steve to blush further

Darcy noticed his blushing and leaned forward to peer round the corner to follow his line of site

"Steve, why are you blushing?" she asked when all she saw was the backs of three of Thor, Jane and Bucky

"Oh, nothing, it doesn't matter" Steve stammered, trying to give her a reassuring smile, but she didn't look reassured; she looked somewhere in between worried and confused

"Darcy, can I ask you something?"

"S-sure"

Steve didn't quite know what to say... So he didn't say anything, her just leaned in and kissed her

Darcy was quite taken aback by the sudden change in direction. Steve had been awkward and quiet all night, yet here he was kissing her... And Darcy was cursing herself for over thinking it all when she should be concentrating on what was going on

He pulled away, cheeks flaming red as he tried to read her reaction

"I erm-" he tried to explain, but he didn't get chance to say much when Darcy pulled him close again, returning the kiss with one of her own

**XxX**

"It's about time" Jane commented, glancing at Darcy and Steve before closing the back door to leave them in privacy

Bucky laughed; "Stevie has had a crush on that girl since they first met!"

"What?!" Jane asked, almost choking on her drink. Everyone had known Darcy liked Steve, everyone other than Steve that was, but no one had any idea he liked her back

"Man this would have been a lot easier if one of us had just said something" she admitted as Thor laughed behind her

"I do believe I suggested this to you Jane" he told her, leaning over to kiss her cheek when she elbowed him playfully in the stomach

**XxX**

"You having fun Pep?" Tony asked, leaning in to kiss her but she pulled away and turned her face

"I'd enjoy it more if you hadn't been drinking" she said, taking a few steps further away from where Bruce, Jess and Carol were stood talking

"Oh come on Pep, it's just a few glasses"

"Have you noticed you're the only one drinking Tony? No one else has touched it"

Tony glanced around, noticing their friends all drinking the juice Pepper had added to the table

"Oh come on Pep, lighten up"

"Don't think I didn't notice you drinking the other day at school Tony. Your starbucks cup doesn't hide the smell"

Tony glanced down at his feet, putting his glass of scotch down and taking Pepper's hands in his; "I'm sorry Pepper, I really am"

"You need to stop you know" she warned, allowing him to pull her closer

"I know, I will"

"You promise?" she asked

"I promise" he smiled, pulling her in for a kiss, which this time she allowed

**XxX**

When they were a little way from the house and could no longer hear their friends talking, Natasha took Clint's hand in hers as they continued to walk.

Clint glanced down at their entwined hands and couldn't suppress the smile on his face

"I really didn't mean to be so late, I'm sorry if you worried" she told him

"It's okay Tasha, I'm just glad you didn't stand me up"

"Stand you up? Is this a date Barton?" she teased with a grin on her face

"I sure hope so" Clint answered, feeling suddenly braver now Natasha was by his side

He pulled her off to the side, sitting on the ground under a large willow tree at the edge of Tony's garden

"You don't have to tell me, but why are you so late?" Clint asked after a moments silence

Natasha's eyes flickered to the ground as the smile fell from her face slightly

"I erm, I had to wait for Ivan to go to bed"

"He doesn't know you're here?"

"No"

"But what if he finds out?" Clint asked worriedly

"He won't, he passed out drunk before I left. I'll be back long before he wakes up"

"But-"

"Clint, I don't want to waste my time talking about Ivan, please?"

"Okay"

Clint tipped her chin up so she wasn't looking at the ground any longer; "What do you want to talk about?" he asked with a smile, lightening the mood instantly

"Why don't we talk about you?" she asked, leaning against Clint's shoulder

"Me? Why me?"

"It's your party after all"

Clint grinned, glancing at his phone when a message from Tony came through;

_'Steve and Darcy finally happened! Just waiting on you and Red now Barton'_

He quickly closed the message as Natasha turned to face him

"Everything okay?" she asked and he nodded, a little too eagerly

"Nat, what exactly did you hear me say to Pepper earlier?" he asked when she glanced down to the phone in his hand

"Nothing I didn't already know" she told him, before adding "Clint, I like you too you know"

And that was the first time Clint saw her blush...


	11. Chapter 11

_So to make up for the lack in updates recently, I wrote you guys an extra long one (after doing a 14 hour shift at the hospital) so I really hope you like it, and please please review. Thanks! ~F_

* * *

Once Darcy and Steve had finally admitted their feelings and kissed, they didn't stop

"Don't they need to breathe?" Jess asked Carol , who burst out laughing and received a glare from both Steve and Darcy

Natasha and Clint eventually joined the others back inside after over an hour alone outside

"Nice of you to finally join us" Tony shouted, as the two of them rejoined the party

"So is that it? Are you and Red finally a couple?" Tony asked, as Clint joined him. Natasha had gone to speak to Jane and Pepper, who were both happily eating the cakes Jessica had made

"I, I dunno" Clint shrugged, glancing back over to Natasha who smiled at him across the room

"You don't know? What the hell were you doing out there for almost two hours?"

"Just talking" Clint answered honestly, it had been nice; he finally felt like he'd gotten to know her a little better. She'd told him that Ivan was a mean drunk and a control freak (which he'd guessed already, but it was nice to hear her tell him) while Cling opened up a little more about his past; he'd told her about his drunk father, and how Barney had abandoned him. It was still a novelty spending time with her outside of school and he hadn't wanted to head back inside, but it was chilly and she was cold.

The party went on until well after midnight; Steve and Darcy were inseparable. Carol, Jess and Bucky spent the better part of the night making fun of them. Pepper hid Tony's alcohol, which he found, and Bruce subsequently hid again. All Jess' cakes were eaten (mostly by Jane) as Thor polished off the pizzas.

It was one thirty when Jess' Mom turned up to give her, Carol and Bruce a ride home, Thor walked Jane home not long after, while Bucky drove Steve and Darcy back.

Natasha and Clint had been sat on the couch, where Natasha had fallen asleep leaning on Clint's shoulder. Clint soon fell asleep as well and Pepper just didn't have the heart to wake them. Instead she covered them over with a blanket before heading home.

It was seven thirty when Clint was woken with a start; Natasha had jumped up beside him when she'd realised the time

"Tasha what are you doing?"

"I've- I've got to get back, before Ivan wakes up. If he realises I was gone he'll- Damn it where are my shoes?!"

"Here" he said tiredly, passing Natasha her sneakers

"See you Monday"

"Tasha, wait. I'll walk you home"

"No it's okay. I've really got to get back!" she said, running off

Clint sighed, sitting back down on the sofa. As soon as he made any progress with Natasha, something always got in the way

He stayed to help Tony tidy up, ignoring the questions he shot his way, before he headed back home to get some more sleep.

**XxX**

Clint's phone woke him up when it vibrated on his nightstand, he did his best to ignore it and go back to sleep, but it buzzed over and over. Opening one eye and squinting at his clock; he saw it was 09.05 so turned his phone off, rolled over and went back to sleep. He forgot all about it until after he'd showered and eaten lunch. He picked it back up and realised it was off. Now he felt kind of guilty, someone clearly needed to get a hold of him this morning...

"What you doing Clint?" Skye asked, bounding into his room and throwing herself on the bed beside Clint

"Shouldn't you be on your way to school?"

"It's Saturday moron"

Clint rolled his eyes; "What do you want _Skye_?"

"I'm bored _Clint_"

"Well go play with one of the other kids"

"Can't I spend time with you?"

"Skye, there are loads of kids here your own age, and I have homework"

"Okay, fine" she sighed, leaving and slamming Clint's bedroom door

Turning his attention back to his phone, he tried to push his guilt aside; Skye was leaving next week, moving to Iowa with her new family, and Clint would be moving in with Coulson sometime over the next month; there was no point getting attached now

He opened his messages to find 8 texts from Tony:

08.58 Tony Stark  
Clint, if you're awake ring me

09.01 Tony Stark  
Pepper was in an accident, on my way to the hospital, ring me when you can

09.07 Tony Stark  
Just got here, don't know what's going on yet

09.07 Tony Stark  
Sorry for rambling, I don't know what to do

09.47 Tony Stark  
She's in surgery, don't know how bad it is yet. Her parents are on holiday

09.53 Tony Stark  
Out of surgery, doctors think she should be okay

11.35 Tony Stark  
Pepper is awake. Wants to know when you'll come visit

11.47 Tony Stark  
Clint, bring Tasha

After two rings, Tony answered his phone; "Barton! Finally"

"Hey Tony, how is she?"

"She's fine, bit bruised but she's not as bad as they first thought"

"What the hell happened?"

"Some drunk jackass rammed into her car and drove off"

Clint heard Tony mutter something to Pepper before returning to talk to Clint; "Barton, Pepper wants you to bring Romanoff with you, I haven't messaged her; you know, her no contact rule, so can you go over to her house and speak to her"

"Yeah no problem, we'll come up soon, that okay?"

"Yeah, see you soon. Thanks Clint"

Clint hurried to grab his things before riding his bike over to Natasha's; he'd only been there once before and it had been dark, so he took a few wrong turned before he recognised the street name and found the right house

Thankfully, there was no car in the driveway; he didn't fancy seeing her uncle right now; he was rude, unfriendly and quite frankly, he frightened him.

His phone buzzed in his pocket again, so he checked it before making his way up the drive;

12.07 Jane Foster  
My mom said she'd give you and Nat a lift home from the hospital later, I'm heading over after band practice. See you there x

Clint knocked twice, and the door swung open; it wasn't locked, it wasn't even shut properly

"Tasha? Natasha?" he called, stepping uneasily into the hallway. He'd never once set food in Natasha's house; none of them had

Everywhere was silent; the only noises came from the occasional creaking floorboard as Clint progressed into the house

"Natasha?"

It was eerie; there were no photos, the walls were bare white and the only furniture Clint could see was one chair and a large TV in the lounge. The house was sparse to say the least

He slowly headed upstairs, with a sinking feeling in his stomach

"Natasha?" he called out again

"Clint?" her voice shook, and Clint had come to learn that it only did that when she was holding back tears. Turning to look in the direction her voice came from, Clint came face to face with a door locked from the outside, and Clint felt his blood begin to boil. Her uncle had locked her in that room and just gone out and left her...

And suddenly it all made sense; she was rarely allowed to hang out in the library after school, she had missed Jane's birthday, she never went shopping with the other girls, hadn't gone with them on the school field trip and had turned down a space on the school gymnastics team. Her uncle wouldn't let her...

He fumbled with the locks with shaking hands as he tried to keep calm, he didn't think about what would happen when he opened that door; what he'd find. He didn't let himself worry about what would happen when her uncle returned, he just needed to be with Natasha right now, and he'd be damned if a few locks got in his way

He pushed the door open with a creek, and took a tentative step inside. Natasha was stood with her back to him; wearing a hoody that was far too big for her, the hood pulled up over her head

"You shouldn't be here Clint" she whispered

"Tasha, I... I erm... could you turn around please?"

He couldn't explain why, but he just needed to see her face

"You should leave; Ivan will be back soon"

"Tasha"

"Clint, please just-"

"Natasha!" he was sterner this time, but not angry; he just wasn't going to walk out and leave her like this

She took in a deep, shaking breath before slowly turning to face him, but keeping her head down; the hood obscured most of her face

Clint took a step toward her, and was a bit shocked when she stepped back and put her hand up to stop him getting any close. He suddenly realised that the much too large hood she'd thrown on was actually his; the sleeves fell well past her hands and the hoody itself easily reached her knees

"You need to leave Clint, please"

"Natasha, what the hell is going on here?"

"I'll explain, I'll tell you everything; I promise. Just please go, before he get's back, he can't find you here! He'll-"

Her panic was growing as she spoke, and she had to force herself to stop before she said too much

"I can't leave you here"

"You have to, Clint please just go" she was crying now, not that he could see her, but her trembling voice gave her away

She was visibly shaking as she tried to suppress her sobs, and Clint took his chance and wrapped his arms around her

He held her as she cried; she fought it at first, but eventually she realised she needed the support he offered to help her stay stood upright

Clint tightened his hold on her, and she winced in pain. She took an unsteady step back away from him and he finally caught a look at her face. He gasped and she quickly pulled the hood tighter

She quickly stepped past him and ran down the stairs, Clint followed so closely that he ran into her when she abruptly stopped

"Clint you need to go"

"Yeah, yeah I do and you need to come with me"

"I can't Clint!"

"Natasha, look at your face!" he was shouting now, but he needed to get through to her. Her left eye was so swollen she could barely open it; the bruises spread down her cheek and jaw line

She ripped down the hood defiantly in a move that shocked Clint, emphasising the injury more and he suddenly felt guilty; he should be more sensitive but this was urgent and he needed her to see this was wrong

"I know Clint! Don't you think I know?!"

She ripped off the hoody so she was stood in a thin white tee to show her arms covered in bruises, she had a nasty burn on her right arm, her wrist looked swollen and broken, and dark purple bruises could be seen across her stomach and ribs through her top. Only now did Clint realise how painfully thin she looked without her baggy tops and oversized jackets.

Clint stared at her as his heart caught in his chest. He wanted to reach out and touch her, comfort her, but didn't know how. He couldn't say anything; Clint opened and closed his mouth a few times, awkwardly trying to think of what to say. How had he never noticed, how had no one noticed?

"Tasha..."

"I know Clint, but there's nothing you can do, I don't have anywhere else to go"

He was reeling, his whole body felt numb as he looked at the battered body of his friend. He didn't know what to do; there wasn't anything he could do...

So he turned and left.

Gasping for breath and desperate for air, he felt sick as he stumbled down the driveway; a million and one questions spinning round his mind, making him dizzy as his mood switched from furious to disgusted, disappointed to devastated.

When he regained his composure and gained control of his breathing once again, he turned back to the house and found Natasha sat on the floor in the hallway; her knees hugged tightly to her chest

"Tasha" he said her name gently, but even so she jumped

"You didn't leave? You came back?"

"You thought- Tasha no"

Her tear soaked, bruised face broke Clint's heart

"Let me help Tasha" Clint asked, sitting next to her on the floor, thankful when she leaned into his arms

She turned to face him, their faces mere inches apart and she leaned in to kiss him.  
It had been what he'd wanted to do all last night, these past few weeks he'd thought of little else. It shocked him a little that it was her to initiate it, but right now it didn't matter. It didn't matter than his mouth tasted metalic from the blood from her split lip, or the fact they were sat on the floor; because Natasha was finally letting him in

When they finally broke apart for air Clint repeated his question; "let me help?"

"You already have"


	12. Chapter 12

_A short chapter this time, and I apologise for not updating anything in a few days, I've been busy delivering lots of babies!_

* * *

Clint felt Natasha shivering in his arms, so he went to close the front door and scooped his hoody back up off the floor to hand to her; "I'll go find you some painkillers"

"Clint, no" she said, reaching up to grab his hand before he left. But he was too far away and the movement caused her to wince in pain as a sharp sensation shot through her ribs

Clint looked at her concerned, "I'll be right back Tasha" he promised, worried she was more seriously injured than she was letting on to

Clint quickly fumbled through the cupboards, not know where anything was kept, or even if they had painkillers in the house  
He looked and looked, and was about to give up when he found a whole lot more than he expected to find...

Natasha glanced up as she heard Clint approaching, and the look in his eye said it all; he'd seen them

"Clint I-" she began, but he shook his head, interrupting what she was trying to say

"It doesn't matter Tasha" he informed her, handing over the asprin and a glass of water and sitting back beside her

Natasha watched him carefully for change in him; the way he acted or spoke, but there was none, no indication of anything he'd just seen

"Clint, please let me explain?"

"I told you Tasha, it doesn't matter. Now take your asprin"

She rolled her eyes but took the pills, grateful to have something to take the edge off her pain

"They're not mine" she explained anyway "Well, they are, but I don't need them"

"Tasha-"

"No Clint, I need you to understand! Please?"

Clint nodded, wrapping his arm over her shoulder, pulling her close and waiting to listen. Though it wouldn't matter what she had to say; it didn't make a difference to him; she was still the same Tasha, and would be the same Clint

When he'd been routing through the cupboards to find the asprin, he'd come across a lot of pill bottles; all prescribed to Natasha from the local doctor. There was Domatil, Seroxat, Cipramil, Prozac and Stelazine, he recognised some of the names of medications his Mom had been on when he was a kid; they were all antidepressants and antipsychotic medications

Natasha locked eye contact with Clint, ensuring he was listening before she began; "Before Ivan first brought me over here, he had someone in Russia, a friend who was a doctor. He altered my medical records, saying that I suffer from schizophrenia, depression and anxiety because of what happened to my parents when I was a child, but it's all a lie. It's how he gets away with keeping me off school so often, and why no one would believe me if I ever told"

Clint didn't think it possible, but he felt his anger at Ivan growing

"He can't get away with this Tasha"

"He already has" she told him sadly

Clint was about to say something, when they heard a car parking on the drive...


	13. Chapter 13

Natasha tensed, and if possible, paled, as she heard the car door slam just outside. She was frozen in fear, and Clint had to drag her to her feet in order to get a reaction. He pulled her toward the stairs, and the two of them disappeared down the hallway just as the front door slammed open.

Natasha, finally having regained some of her composure urged Clint towards her bedroom, shutting the door behind them and whispering at him to get under the bed. Her bedroom was small, and sparse. Other than the bed, the only furniture was a small set of draws by the door, she didn't even have curtains.

"But what about the locks on the door? They were locked earlier" he asked worriedly, they were well and truly pinned in

"Ivan was drunk this morning, he probably won't remember locking them"

"Probably?" Clint grumbled, as he climbed under the bed. He didn't care what would happen to him, he only cared about what the consequences would be for Natasha if Ivan found him here

They heard heavy footsteps making their way up the stairs, and Natasha begged Clint with just a gaze to hide and remain quiet. He disappeared from view and Natasha grabbed a book from her school bag, sitting on the bed as the door flew open

Ivan stood, imposing and angry, in the doorway; he placed some water, pills and chips on the draws before leaving, muttering something in Russian, and sliding the locks back into place.

**XxX**

Jane arrived at the hospital, to find Tony asleep awkwardly propped in a chair in the corner of the room. Steve was sat by Pepper's bedside while Bruce stood, hovering worriedly, looking through her notes and keeping an eye on her vital signs (which had been stable since she'd gotten to the hospital)

Pepper didn't look as bad as Jane has been expecting; she was a little off colour, her right arm was in a sling and her ankle was badly sprained. The ruptured spleen they'd suspected when she'd first been brought in had proven to be incorrect, and overall she'd gotten off pretty lightly, especially considering the state of her parents car

Jane passed her the flowers she'd bough on her way over from band practice, and perched on the end of the bed

"Where's Clint and Tasha?" she asked, but was interrupted as Darcy burst through the door

"Oh thank God! Pepper, don't _ever_ do that to me again!" she said, catching her breath. Darcy took the seat Steve offered her as Tony woke suddenly. He was surprised to see the small room so full, only Bruce had been here when he'd closed his eyes

"Where are Barton and Little Red?" he asked, repeating Jane's unanswered question when he realised they weren't there

"No one has heard from them" Steve told the others

"They probably stopped for a make out session on the way" Tony said, smirking as he took Pepper's hand in his

"I'll ring Clint and see where they are" Jane informed the others, ignoring Tony's comment

"You have to go outside, hospital policy" Bruce informed her, smiling shyly; his Mom was a nurse in the A & E department.

**XxX**

Clint climbed out from under Natasha's bed, taking a seat beside her and watching closely as her eyes were glued to the floor

"I'm sorry you had to find out like this Clint"

He took her hands and kissed her cheek "Don't be sorry Tasha, this isn't your fault... You know I'm stuck in here with you right?"

Clint had meant to lighten the mood, but it only served to make Natasha more worried as she glanced to the now locked door

"Clint, why did you come over here?"

He fumbled in his pocket for his phone as he answered her question; "Oh shit, I forgot. Pepper was in an accident"

"What?! Is she okay?" Natasha asked worriedly

Clint's phone started ringing as he fished it from his pocket; he answered it quickly without even looking who it was

"Jane? Yeah, I know. How is she?" ... "Good, I know I'm sorry, we're-"

He glanced to Natasha, who shook her head

"We're both ill, we'll see Pepper when we're better... Tell her we're sorry. Bye"

"Pepper is okay" he informed Natasha once he'd hung up, easing the look of concern on her face.

Clint walked over to the door, testing to check that it was actually locked (which it was), before examining the items Ivan had shoved on the draws before he'd left

"You hungry?" she asked sarcastically. Clint already knew her secrets, there was no point trying to hide them anymore

"This is your lunch?" he asked, picking up the bottle of Prozac and examining it, before throwing the bag of chips in her direction

She grabbed them out of the air, before grimacing as pain shot through her (probably broken) wrist

"Sorry" he apologised quickly, but Natasha shook her head; indicating it was okay

"Want some?" she offered as Clint took a handful

"You don't have to stay you know, you can climb out the window and go home for a proper lunch"

"Is that how you got to the party last night?"

She nodded, pulling her knees up underneath her as she snacked on the chips

"I'm not going anywhere, Nat... I mean, I'd like to stay, if that's okay?"

She nodded again, smiling, when he leaned in to kiss her again.


End file.
